ECPI/MCI LPN Program - anyone?

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I haven't posted here before..so it's nice to meet all of you =)

I was curious as to whether or not anyone here has gone to ECPI/MCI for their 12 month LPN program. I live in Manassas, VA so I go to their Manassas campus - however the ECPI's in Norfolk and VA Beach have programs as well. My reason for asking is that my class is the first LPN class (to start and graduate in December) for the Manassas campus..and we (my class) has had several issues with the way the school has been ran. I was just wanting to know if anyone had gone to this school, and if so - did you ever have any problems with staff, ways of teaching, rules, etc?? Thanks

Specializes in OB, GYN, PEDS, Urgent Care.

I am starting ECPI LPN program in Manassas in January... anyone joining me?????? I also wanted to know from the graduates how was securing a job once you left??????????

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Trust me - Avoid ECPI if you want a decent education and actually want to find a good job. Nursing jobs aren't exactly plentiful in the Raleigh area right now - Some big hospitals have hiring freezes currently in place. I'm from the triangle and grew up in the Raleigh area - ECPI's reputation is not good and is essentially a joke of a school around here - they have a reputations of teachers with questionable credentials, administrators constantly being replaced, and credit hours that are worthless once you leave.

If you are moving to the area - be smart , wait it out a year, take whatever pre-reqs you can in the mean time and apply to Wake tech for an associates in Nursing - which is seen equivalent in local hospitals as getting a BSN from UNC chapel Hill. Why waste time with the LPN?? just go for the full RN , it'll be worth it big time in the future. Many states, and specific health care settings, don't even utilize LPN's anymore -- CNAs fill the gap in most settings. Wake Tech is a highly respected Nursing program in this area - it's very vigorous, is highly accredited, you can transfer stuff anywhere including other states, and you'll land a good paying job just having it on your resume. Wake tech nursing graduates are more well respected and are better trained than UNC-chapel hill BSN students. I know from experience, and employers would tell you the same thing - Get a degree from a quickie degree school like ECPI and you'll get beat out every time by graduates from public schools.

The triangle has some of the best schools in the country - why be in a hurry to get a worthless "degree" are more appropriately should be called a Certificate, when you can put in the hard work to turn yourself into a highly trained commodity to our robust healthcare network.

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I'm seriously thinking about starting the Practical Nursing program at ECPI in Charlotte. The only problem is that it is way too expensive.($29,000) I was wondering how it would be covered if I was to get a pell grant and also since I am unemployed would the WIA help pay for it? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Brandnu, have you lost your mind??

After reading through this thread I feel like referring you folks to Suze Orman about your financial suicide in the making.

Brandnu ,

You are unemployed and you are even considering a $30k per year non-accredited trade school, where all of your credits are useless for future use. Are you nuts??

Get a grip on reality and start looking at local community college RN programs - yes they have standards, you'll have to bust your hump just to get accepted into the program, and you will live a waking nightmare for at least 2 years.

Success takes hard work -- if you expect to go out and get a quick nursing certificate without having to do the work, then you future career aspects will turn out just as shoddy as your approach to your education.

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I'm seriously thinking about starting the Practical Nursing program at ECPI in Charlotte. The only problem is that it is way too expensive.($29,000) I was wondering how it would be covered if I was to get a pell grant and also since I am unemployed would the WIA help pay for it? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Read this review, which confirms what I already know about ECPI -- and coincidentally it applies to someone in your location.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/ecpi-college-of-technology-c177344.html

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you are right. i've decided to go to community college rather than taking the easy way out. thanks for the advice. i really appreciate it.

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hello, i am a perspective student who is interested in the LPN program at ECPI in raleigh,nc.My goal is to become an LPN first then bridge to RN.I talked to a counselor and she said that i didnt need any pre reqs for the lpn program at ECPI,but will i need them to bridge over to rn? Also does anyone know how long it takes to become an LPN at ECPI if i take the evening classes,i heard the classes are from 5pm to 10pm.

thanks for the help:)

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Well I graduated from the manassas ecpi in december. They got a new campus president guy who is awesome and is really working out the issues. As far as the education goes, I personally feel like it was good, and quality teaching. The evening teachers (which is the route I went) are very good. Now as far as clinicals and scheduleing goes, it's a mess. Prepare for them to loose your paperwork, prepare to get your schedule for the next term a few days before it starts, prepare that some of your clincals you will drive to will have no instructor, and you will have to make them up, prepare that you will not neccesarily have clincals coordinate with your class

(for our pediatric unit, we were sent to illif pediatric nursing home ONCE and the rest we were in a medsurg unit) also one of our med surg classes, we had to find our own clinical site, because the clinical coordinator (who is a lazy noo good crazy person) was gonna put us in ltc, cuz there was no where to go.

The night program is hard, you do your clincals on the weekend, most every weekend. If I could do it again, I would have probaley not gone there, but if you are looking for a fast way, they are okay. Once your there awhile, you get used to the unorganization of it. I would deff. not go to the manassas ecpi for RN because they just got the program, so I am sure it is a disaster.

ECPI is good though because we did a hesi nearly every term, and their pass grade is 80%, so One every test, or every assignment, a passing grade is an 80 or better. overall the education is good, the program is just unorganized.

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I went to MCI at ECPI in Roanoke. graduated Feb 26. I loved ECPI. After all was said and done I only gotta pay back 19,000. The instructors were great. It was a 14 month program i went through. My son and my daughter also go to ECPI but for the computer stuff. I told them I needed a family discount!! LOL

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hello, So how's it going for u now ?did u pass the state test? and did u have a hard time trying to get a job ? were the classes really hard ? i wont to move there and attend but i need more feedback from the student that have went there

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Specializes in OB, GYN, PEDS, Urgent Care.

I agree with everything you stated. I am ending my 4th term on Friday, there were days this term when I wanted to pull my hair out, but I :redbeathe nursing, so I will be in it for the long haul! I start clinicals in 3 weeks!

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I started the LPN program at ECPI in Richmond VA last July. First of all, I found the admissions process to be shady. I called to get information on the program and was told that they would not give me info over the phone and that I would have to come in and meet with an admissions rep. So I got an appointment for like the next day. Well, I was there for about four hours and by the time I left, I had met with admissions, had two interviews with random administrators, took the TEAS test, got a loan from financial aid for 29k and was set to start classes in two weeks!!! And I was only trying to get information!!! I felt like they didn't really give me time to think it through. Not to mention the director of admissions was someone I went to high school with which is kind of a joke because he could not have had enough experience to hold that position. So I started classes; we received schedules at orientation and books the first day of class. Everything seemed so disorganized and some of the students and teachers were nasty. I was yelled at by a teacher which shocked me as I have always been a good student and respectful in class. I was also blatantly lied to by administrators. I caught the director of admissions in a lie that should have been quite embarassing for him. I studied for the first A & P test all week and still got a 67. I consider myself an intelligent person so I was really upset and frustrated. I am willing to study and put in the hard work however the issues around the school became too much to deal with for me. I lasted about 2 weeks... and my class still hadn't received uniforms lol!!! I enrolled at a community college last August and spent a year completing the pre-reqs for their LPN program. I was accepted and will start this August! It is a three semester program, fall, spring and a shorter summer semester and then I will be done (a little less than a year!!!). I am so happy that I made this choice. I am graduating 9 months later than would have at ECPI but i have almost a 4.0 gpa and have all my nights and weekends free at community college and will continue to have them free throught my program. I also get winter break and spring break to keep me from overload and to spend time with friends and family. That is something you will NOT get at ECPI. I would encourage everyone thinking about ECPI/MCI consider community college. It is really not that much longer of a program, especially and I got accepted on my first try!!! Also the total cost of my program is about 5k as opposed to the 29k at ECPI. And btw... I did get out of my ECPI loan... at least they say I did and I haven't heard anything otherwise.

Well anyway I hope this was helpful. Good luck to everyone in their nursing education and careers!!!

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